Electric Vehicle Consumption Markets: An Economic Analysis

Electric vehicles (EVs) are viewed as an integral part of tomorrow's smart cities as they provide green alternatives as well as low-price solutions for traditional gasoline-based vehicles. However, the adoption of EVs by the users remain insipid. This is because of their limited battery capacity and longer recharging period compared to conventional vehicles. Therefore, to overcome these challenges, there is a need for new models that capture the realistic behavior of the users and their preferences vis-a-vis EVs. In this paper, the impact of various important parameters that influence the preference of a user with regard to using EVs is studied. In particular, a game-theoretic model is proposed for economic analysis of the EV market, considering different parameters pertaining to users' preferences. These parameters primarily include trip costs, in terms of both money and time, and user sensitivities. The preferences of users and the structural characteristics of the vehicles are captured in the proposed model. Two different competition scenarios are studied using the Bertrand competition model. First, a competition between a fuel provider and an electric provider is modeled. Then, the competition between two electric providers is modeled. For both approaches, an extensive analysis of the existence of Nash equilibria is provided.